Guilty Pleasure
by Sara60691
Summary: Loki is observing the cosmos, however, his eyes keep getting drawn to a certain Midgardian...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, here's a Thor 2 fic with very mild spoilers that I wrote in half an hour. Thanks you Yoshinator for the Beta!

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Loki stood at the end of the bridge, looking down into the expansive universe, eyes wandering from one world to the next, sometimes lingering to watch the inhabitants before moving on. Heimdall was away still, most likely stoically sitting at the tavern, drinking. Technically no one was allowed to come or go from the Bifrost still and so the guardian was away from his post. As the trickster's eyes moved over Midgard he paused, seeking out and finding the mortal Thor had gone through all the trouble for, the one who his mother died for.

Jane Foster appeared no more special than any other mortal to him. She was brilliant of course, had a fair visage as well, but she was much like Thor in that her endless optimism grated on his nerves. The mortal and his not-brother were a perfect match in that case, their foolish ideals which had no place in the universe, such as it was. What kept his eyes trained to Midgard though was not the scientist, but the girl who hovered around her.

Loki had yet to learn her name, but he remembered glimpses of her from when Thor was banished. He remembered this girl vaguely from his time in New York as well, someone among the crowd who was scared yet not confused, a person who knew of things outside their own world. She had been swept away in the panicked crowd before he could pluck her from it to question her about the Foster woman. He knew she would have had information for him about her.

And now here she was, bouncing around a small living quarters, chatting away to a boy near her own age if Loki had to guess, while Selvik and Thor's woman stared grimly over some papers. It seemed to the Asgardian that the young dark haired girl never sat still, always moving, always talking. She could be rather crude at times, but that only served to spark some faint amusement in Loki rather than distaste at her uncultured behavior.

"Ok, I'm heading to class. Jane, don't destroy anything. Erik, please keep your pants on, and intern, make sure they eat," the girl demanded, picking up various objects.

"Darcy, you don't need to treat us like children," Jane scolded, but rather distractedly. The young woman…Darcy…just gave a smile before patting her employer on the head.

"Whatever you say Jane, I'm off," she announced. Loki smiled to himself, preparing to let his gaze drift elsewhere as soon as Darcy left, but she paused beside the boy, grinning at him in a different way.

"See you later Ian," she whispered, giving him a rather chaste kiss on the cheek, leaving a bright red lip stain mark behind before she pranced out the door. The boy was grinning idiotically at the door while Loki glared down on him. Finally, after a moment to compose himself, he turned away. This boy, _Ian_, was not a welcome character in the former Prince's viewings of Midgard. Loki rather disliked him. The boy was dull and uninteresting and far too unexciting to be around someone as vibrant as Darcy. She was by far much more entertaining and Loki preferred that his entertainment not be dampened by the likes of that boy. He would only lessen the energy that Darcy seemed to exude all the time.

Perhaps he should pay another visit to Midgard in the near future. Odin was trapped in Odinsleep, hidden away where none but Loki knew. He could easily slip in and out of Asgard without being missed, despite having taken the Allfather's place. He knew that he wouldn't risk attacking Jane Foster or Dr. Selvik, but he could easily dispatch of the boy who didn't belong there. It would be easy to stage an accident for him, and humans were dull creatures. They couldn't detect magic and so would assume the boy had perished due to his own stupidity.

Yes, Loki could envision it easily. Slipping away to Midgard would only take a few moments. Set the trap, watch it succeed, perhaps meet Darcy and then slip away back to the Realm Eternal. Loki could do that effortlessly. Meeting Darcy made him all the more determined to carry through with his idea, but he would need to have a fully formed plan before he was ready to slip off. Patience and planning were his specialty and he knew better than to just charge in and slaughter the boy. No, he would plan carefully. Perhaps get close to Darcy and this Ian child before dispatching of the irksome creature. He would be a friend Darcy could console in, a balm to her wounds, if you will. Loki smiled to himself as he made his way back to the palace under the guise of an unassuming guard. Darcy would be a wonderful companion, Loki was sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok people, I've decided to continue this, **BUT I NEED SOME HELP! **if one of you lovely readers knows anything about the University of Greenwich or the Old Royal Naval College in England I need details about the library that's on campus. I want to get details right, but I can't really find anything online. I am willing to spend hours researching to make sure certain aspects of my story is accurate and this is driving me nuts, so if someone could help me out, just review or send a PM. Any help would be great! thank you and enjoy the next chapter!

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_So late…so, so late_, Darcy chanted in her head as she ran down the narrow streets, ignoring the car horns blaring behind her. She really couldn't believe she was going to be late for her first day working at the campus library. Between classes and helping/taking care of Jane, Darcy's schedule was pretty damn full. Being Jane's intern didn't really pay well though so she really needed this job.

"Move!" she yelled at a group of kids taking up the sidewalk as she barreled onward. They barely had enough time to scramble out of her way and Darcy was pretty sure she had clipped at least one of them with her book bag if the cursing behind her was anything to go by. Even as she managed to scramble through the doorway of the library, barely on time, the brunette was pledging to give up extra sleep and maybe take up long distance running in order to keep this job. The head librarian gave her a rather disparaging look as she huffed and puffed her way up to the desk. Darcy just gave her a cheeky smile.

"Ms. Lewis I presume?" the grey haired woman asked, scowling at Darcy over her glasses. _Why do people wear glasses if they don't look through them?_ She wondered, even as she nodded in response.

"Yup, that's me!"

"I am Mrs. Crofts if you don't recall. Follow me, I'll show you what you'll be doing. I assume you have some familiarity with the filing system?" the librarian said, tone clipped and professional.

"Sure do, practically lived in the library back in New Mexico. The one in New York was really nice to hang out in too before it got a little bit smashed," she commented, attempting to keep her voice down. _Really need this job_ she kept reminding herself. The older woman turned to her in surprise even as they kept walking.

"You were in New York during the attack a year ago?" she asked.

"Sure was! Terrifying as hell too," Darcy answered. The woman gave a weak nod and possibly attempted a smile, the brunette couldn't be sure, before she took a sharp left into a little alcove area filled with stacks of books.

"You will be re-shelving these books Ms. Lewis. I'm sure you're familiar with the system and if not, I'm sure you can figure it out. If you have some dire emergency, seek me out. I will be at the front desk. You have a one hour lunch break, and if you are scheduled for eight hours or more, a fifteen minute break as well. Any books that are returned or not needed will be put here in this room, but keep an eye out for those lazy vagabonds who like to leave things on the tables or put books back in the wrong place." And with that said, the steely woman was off through the stacks again. _The life of a graduate student is so hard_ Darcy lamented, filling up a nearby cart with a random assortment of books and heading off into the vastness that was the library.

Darcy hummed to herself as she worked, daring to take out her iPod when she was far enough from the front desk, but keeping the volume low so as not to get busted. Out of all the libraries Darcy like to hang out in, this one was by far the best. It had been fixed up really well since the dark elves attacked, the ancient, intricate stone carvings replace meticulously well. The English sure knew how to preserve their history, that was for sure. She kind of mourned the loss of the great paintings in one of the hallways of the other building as she was shelving some art books, but the foundation who took care of the grounds had hired a great team of painters to replicate the originals.

Darcy was making her third trip into the stacks, one of the darker corners with the old, outdated books no one really used, when she ran into someone. The young woman hadn't really been expecting someone to be hanging out around this section and so had dared to turn the sound up. It was just her luck she would run right into the only other living soul in this part of the library.

"Oh my god dude, I'm so sorry!" she said, tugging the cart away from him while he grimaced and wriggled his foot, trying to shake the pain off.

"It's quite alright. I most likely wasn't paying attention to where I was going," he said, looking up from his injured appendage to smile reassuringly at her. Darcy was struck for a moment by how green his eyes were before she managed to return the smile.

"I definitely wasn't paying attention," she grinned, waving her earbuds before tucking them away, "I really don't want to get fired on my first day, so if you don't tell anyone I ran you over with the book cart, then I won't have to hunt you down and murder you, cool?" she giggled.

"I wouldn't want to get you sacked on your first day either so rest assured, I won't tell a soul," he replied, smirking.

"Great, thanks…what are you doing down here anyway? This is like, the archived and old as hell books section. I didn't think anyone would be looking for anything down here," she asked, pulling a book off the cart and scanning the shelves for where it was supposed to go.

"I was looking for a rather old book," he said, chuckling at the unamused look at her face.

"I'm Darcy by the way. If you live in the library like most of the students seem to I bet I'll be seeing you around mister…?"

"Lawrence," he answered. Darcy snorted, shaking her head.

"You English and your weird old names…though I suppose mine isn't any better, it at least sounds creative," she mumbled, looking down to see what she had left on the cart. He quirked at eyebrow questioningly at her and she grinned.

"There is nothing strange about my name dear girl…and now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to find," he told her, smiling and bowing his head politely before striding past her. Darcy hummed as he left, appreciating his lean physique as the man walked away. As she continued about her work, something niggled at the back of her mind, some sort of familiarity. Had she seen Lawrence before? He seemed old enough to be another graduate student, probably further along in his studies than she was in hers. She had probably seen him around the library before. Still, as she continued to shelve books for the next few hours, she couldn't help but think she had seen those bright green eyes somewhere else before.

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A/N 2: ok, so, I didn't really plan on continuing this, but I happened to get inspiration from the reviews, so...would love to hear from you readers and please be patient with updates!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To the lovely Time Reviewer who asked about Loki's eye color: Yes, Tom Hiddleston has amazing blue eyes, but I read somewhere that he used green contacts in Thor, and in the Avengers he didn't, possibly to show the effect of the Tesseract. Now, I can't confirm this myself, but it does appear that his eyes are more green than blue looking in Thor. So I went with green eyes in my story. I hope this explains the eye color thing a bit. Also, BIG thank you to my beta The Yoshinator! And on to the story!

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Loki was rather proud of himself. He had finally had a moment to himself at home and so went to Midgard to seek out Darcy. To his delight he had found the girl in a library. She had been humming, some sort of noise playing from the devices in her ears. She didn't seem to notice him and so he allowed her to run right into him. The slight pain in his foot was worth the few moments he spent talking to her. She had laughed at the name he had chosen, but she smiled, was friendly, even appeared to like him. He didn't even need to disguise his looks in front of her only his clothes, knowing she wouldn't really recognize his face. The most she probably saw of him was a quick flash from the masses in New York before she was swept away.

"My King," the quiet greeting drew Loki from his musings, looking down from the throne to Heimdall who bowed slightly before straightening to look up at him. Loki nodded, giving his permission to speak.

"My King, I wish to know how long you intend to keep the Bifrost closed. I am afraid what sort of chaos the other realms will fall into should they discover Asgard is once again closed off," the guardian said.

"Do you still cast your gaze across the realms?"

"I do my Lord."

"I do as well. I shall continue to do so until I am sure that no other dark elves linger where they should not. When I am certain there will be no other threat I will allow the Bifrost to open again. Until that time I must ensure the realm's safety," Loki answered.

"Yes my Lord." He bowed again, standing to leave. Loki knew, reasonably, that the larger man couldn't see through his tricks. Not even his mother could see through his magic. Sometimes the way Heimdall's golden gaze lingered made the trickster wonder otherwise though. Of course, the gatekeeper wouldn't allow Loki to continue on as he did should he be able to see through his magic. Feeling uneasy all the same, the young Asgardian left the palace, making his way out to the bridge. Casting his gaze down to Midgard, he found the object of his growing obsession easily.

"There you are darling," he mumbled, smiling. Darcy was in the library again, but she was seated at a table, books and papers as well as a computer covering the whole surface. The girl herself was not paying any attention to her possessions, instead she was turned in her seat chatting happily with that Ian creature. Loki frowned. He would have to do something about that boy soon. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, something involving work by the tone and how Darcy kept mentioning the scientist, Selvig.

"I know they can be a handful but I mean, they're pretty awesome people even if Erik is a few coco puffs short," Darcy commented, smiling. Loki watched as Ian frowned, shifting awkwardly.

"Yeah, about him…don't you think it would be better if he went back to the hospital? He really seems to need the help," the boy mentioned. Darcy's smile slipped slightly, her gaze turning sharp.

"I know Erik is a little odd right now but he wasn't always like this. He was normal but what he went through in New York really messed with him. He's still Erik, he just needs a little help now," she explained.

"And that's great, but it's a lot to keep track of him sometimes and…you know, not doing something to get arrested," the boy muttered, shuffling so more.

"Ok, well, I have this paper I have to work on so can we talk about this later? Good, I'll see you back at the apartment." And with that Darcy turned her back on the boy dismissively. Ian sighed, giving a forlorn look to her back before turning and leaving. Loki was absolutely gleeful. He was worried when he first observed his Darcy and Ian together, but apparently their relationship was developing cracks around the edges. It would be simple to slip in and break apart their fragile bond. He may not even have to kill the boy, which was something he really didn't care whether he did or not. It was not as if he hadn't killed before, but perhaps if he were to begin a liaison with Darcy, it would be best to keep the homicide to a minimum. Most humans seemed fearful or cautious of those willing to murder. The king of Asgard walked away from the Bifrost with a small, secretive smile on his face, leaving the mortal to her studies in privacy.


	4. Chapter 4

So, her dinner date with Ian didn't exactly go as planned last night. He had started dropping very unsubtle hints that working with Erik was a little much for him and that Erik should go. The thing was, as much as she joked that Erik was like the crazy uncle in their weird little family, he really did feel like family, though more of a father than an uncle. Jane might as well be her sister and Erik reminded her of her Dad so much sometimes it was painful and made her homesick. Darcy had hated seeing Erik in that mental hospital, those places just gave her the creeps, but it wasn't like Erik even needed to be there. The older man was perfectly normal…he had just developed a few quirky habits after New York. If anyone asked she would say his little oddities made him more interesting than he had been before.

"Darcy, Erik's doing that thing again," Ian sighed, scrunching his nose in a displeased look as he glanced back at the scientist. The younger woman glanced up from her work to see Erik wandering around without his pants on again. Thank god he had switched to boxers. It had been more awkward when he wore tighty whities and did this. Now it just looked like he was wearing shorts. Darcy shrugged when her boyfriend looked over to her and his frown deepened.

"Darce, he can't keep doing this! It's not normal!" he whined, striding over to her.

"Well if it bugs you so much maybe you should leave. He does live here after all," Darcy muttered, turning back to her work and idly wondering where Jane had wandered off to.

"I'm supposed to live here too!"

"You have your own apartment that you still pay for and most of your stuff is still at. Technically this is mine and Jane's apartment," she replied.

"The only reason I still have my own flat is because this place is too small!"

"Well Ian, I guess we're at an impasse right now then. I'm going to the library to work on this. Leave or stay, it's up to you. Erik, I'll see you later, please stay in the apartment. I don't need Mrs. Norris from across the hall to call the cops again." And with that Darcy swept all her things into her bag and practically flew out the door.

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Darcy really loved the library, but she especially enjoyed its peace and quiet this evening. There were hardly any people here and she was able to find a nice quiet corner away from everyone where she could listen to her music loudly and talk aloud without disturbing anyone. Despite her blasé, careless attitude, she sometimes did consider other people.

"I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation…I've never been afraid of any deviation…An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange…I ain't gonna change…An' I'm never gonna care 'bout my bad reputation…Oh no, not me, oh no, not me!" Darcy was madly drumming away, completely ignoring her study materials as she attempted to dance while remaining seated. Towards the end of Joan Jett rocking out her Bad Reputation song one of her pencils went flying out of her hand. The young woman cursed, standing to go find it and hoping she hadn't flung it into anyone who might have been passing nearby. When she turned from her table she was surprised to almost run smack dab into Lawrence.

"Oh! Hey dude, didn't expect you to be lurking so close by. How's it going? And I see you caught my pencil!" she rambled, smirking and she plucked her writing implement out of his hand. He gave her a small smile, stepping back slightly to give her space.

"And I didn't expect you to be flinging things all over the place. I have been fine, and I see you have been busy," he mentioned, glancing over to the book covered table.

"Yup, getting a jump on this assignment, though it's hard not getting distracted by my music. I mean, you have to be crazy to not rock out to Joan Jett!" she laughed, falling back into her chair.

"I must admit, I haven't listened to music in a while and I'm not familiar with her," Lawrence said, taking a seat across from her. Darcy couldn't help but gape.

"Really?! Dude, you need a crash course in classic rock. Seriously, it's an awesome genre. Anyway, what are you doing in here lurking around with the other grad students?" she asked.

"Looking for a book, there is an area of research I'm particularly interested in at the moment," he answered.

"Oh? And what would that be? What's your area of study anyway?" she asked, starting to shuffle her books and papers into some semblance of order.

"History. I'm looking into mythology at the moment," he answered.

"I have a Bachelor's in Political Science and now I'm working on my Masters in Political studies. I never was into history all that much but I have to study it," Darcy sighed, glancing down at the history book in her hand before tossing on top of her pile of study materials.

"That's too bad. I find history fascinating, especially the myths and their origins. Norse Mythology is a particular interest of mine," Lawrence said. Darcy squinted at him for a moment, wondering why the comment on Norse mythology struck her as weird. Most people knew about Thor now that he had been involved in two huge battles on Earth, but she doubted that Lawrence was one of those fangirls who switched their majors to history just because of the blond.

"Something the matter?" he asked as she stared at him for too long.

"Norse mythology is kind of a weird area to study," she replied, shrugging, "most girls study it now because of that guy who wrecked the school a few months back."

"Ah, yes…that was a rather awful event. It was particularly tragic losing so many historic architectures, especially the artwork in the painted hall."

"Oh my god, yeah! I loved staring at those paintings. I felt like I would find something new each time I would look at them!" she said loudly, waving her hands dramatically. As Darcy resumed packing up her materials. She knew Lawrence was staring at her like she had been staring at him just a moment ago, and she was suddenly sorry for all the people she ever creepily stared at because it was damn unnerving.

"This may seem a bit forward…" Darcy jumped slightly when he suddenly spoke, but turned to look at him curiously, "But would you like to get a coffee with me sometime?" he asked. The young woman could feel a slight flush come over her face and she smiled at him.

"That would be cool, but I'm seeing someone," she replied.

"Oh? And that would stop us from meeting up for coffee as friends?" he smirked.

"Well, I guess I'm good at assuming the wrong thing," she chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"So, coffee sometime?" he asked again.

"Sure, maybe the weekend? I work most of Friday but I'm free Saturday," she said, tugging her hat on before finally turning to face him.

"That should be fine. Shall we meet at about ten at that place down the street?"

"Perfect. See you!" Darcy called as she walked away, waving over her shoulder. Lawrence gave her a small smile and a slight bow of his head before turning and disappearing into the stacks. Darcy found herself smiling almost all the way back to her apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

The day that Midgardians called Friday found Loki standing out at the Bifrost once again, disguised as an unassuming guard rather than the Allfather. He was gazing intently down upon the school Darcy was attending, attempting to learn as much information about Midgardian students as he could. He was much better at blending in with the people of Midgard than Thor, and was more practiced in their ways, but his knowledge was still lacking somewhat. His gaze followed a pair of students who studied history and how they were talking about a professor of one of their classes before his sight caught Darcy near them, mumbling to herself. He looked toward her instead, observing as she listened to her music and shelving books others had used. When Darcy jumped suddenly and turned off her music, Loki wondered if she was about to get into trouble of some sort.

"Son of a bitch…" she muttered, pulling out her cellphone and glancing around for other people before answering.

"Hey Ian, I'm working right now," she answered, the mention of the boy causing Loki to bristle.

"Really? C'mon, Erik has done that a million times, I'm not sure why it's suddenly too much for you now…" she sighed, leaning back against the shelf. There was silence from the girl for a while, a frown on her lips and a little furrow of annoyance between her eyes.

"Listen, if you need time to cool off, fine. Just go back to your apartment and do whatever. Call me when you've chilled out," she told the boy.

"Tomorrow? You want to go out on a date tomorrow?" she questioned exasperatedly, "Can't, I have plans with a friend. Also, I would work on your timing there intern," she said, forcing a little playful laugh at the end, even if there was still a scowl of displeasure on her face. A few more words were exchanged before Darcy hung up and tucked her phone away, putting her music back on. Loki observed for a while longer, Darcy's smile never quite returning to her face as she continued about her work. The Asgardian decided to leave the mortal to her task, striding back to the palace undisturbed by any. The throne room was empty and Loki did not pause as he stepped behind the golden dais, taking the stairs hidden behind it down into a secret room he had made his own. The room was rather plain in decoration, a work bench and rows upon rows of books along one wall, shelves of supplies along another. On the far wall of the room however, was a simple bed, upon which Odin rested, trapped in Odinsleep. Loki strode over to the prone man, taking a seat beside the bed and picking up the book resting nearby.

"Now where were we? I don't quite understand Midgardian literature, but I must say, some of it is fascinating. Ah, here we were. 'Wit beyond measure, is man's greatest treasure,'…a rather strange quote don't you think? I believe this is what got us off track the last time though. I believe you do not wish to hear of my musing on intelligence versus brute strength. Of course, you Asgardians seem to favor the latter. Mother always did approve of my preference for studying rather than training. But once again, my time spent here is short and so let us continue," Loki said, turning back to the book and continuing. He didn't spend long reading, only a few pages before he stopped for the time being. The young man spent a few minutes flipping through some newly acquired magic books before retreating back upstairs for the day.

"Heimdall," Loki greeted, once again disguised as the King, "Join me. I was going to the Bifrost," he said as he was passing through the halls and had come upon the guardian. The taller man bowed, following silently. As much as the guardian unnerved Loki while he was in such a delicate position, he had decided that by inviting him to join and gaze across the cosmos it would put the man at ease. So the two stood at the end of the bridge, Loki turning his gaze back to Darcy and her friends while Heimdall observed alongside him. The prince didn't know where his golden gaze wandered, nor did he care. In just a few short hours Loki would sneak away to Midgard once again, spending a few sweet moments with his interesting mortal before returning.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Again, HUGE thank you to my beta Yoshinator. There was a lot to fix in this chapter and without her help it probably would have been a hot mess, lol. Enjoy the Chapter.

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"Thor!" Darcy's scream of joy could be heard by nearly the entire apartment building as the young woman flung herself at the blond. He caught her up in one of his strong hugs, swinging her around a bit like a child. She laughed, patting his arm to be set down.

"Lady Darcy! It is good to see you! How have you been?" he asked, laughing as he set her on her feet.

"I'm good. Jane's been busy with work and Erik is still a little quirky, but he's better than the last time you visited. What's been going on with you? You disappeared with Stark and Captain America for a while since you got back," she questioned.

"Ah, yes. The Man of Iron has taken it upon himself to show the Captain and me around Midgard and present to us all of the fascinating things your world holds. I must say, I quite enjoy the moving pictures…films? There was one we watched that I wish to see more of," Thor explained, a look of childish glee on his face as he talked about the movie.

"What was the movie?" she asked.

"The one with the children who use magic and go to the strangely named school and the three headed dog."

"Oh yeah, Harry Potter. You should read the books before seeing any more of the movies. The books are much better and explain more of what's happening. I went with my parents last time I was home and Dad hadn't read the books. Mom and I had to keep explaining different things so that he could understand what was going on. It was annoying. Anyway, your flashy flying entrance onto the terrace was a bit of a waste. Jane is at work and Erik is at his weekly SHIELD mandated therapy session. I think Barton is with him actually. I think it's like a group therapy session of which I am supposed to have no knowledge," Darcy told him with a pleased grin on her face.

"That is unfortunate. Will you tell me how to get to Jane's workplace? I wish to spend some time with her since I haven't been here in a long while. SHIELD and the Man of Iron kept me for longer than I planned."

Oh yeah, I'm actually heading by there to drop off some paperwork before going to meet with a friend. I'll walk you over. By the way, you might want to change into some Earth clothes there big guy," she mentioned, eyeing the alien armor. Thor glanced down almost sheepishly at his Asgardian wardrobe before going into Jane's room to change into some spare Midgardian clothes they kept for him. Darcy kept herself busy by collecting and double checking that she had all the paperwork while she was waiting for Thor to change. She gave him a quick smile and an approving nod when he stepped out.

"Nice, you even managed to put the shirt on the right way. Let's head out, I don't want to be late," she said, striding toward the door. The walk to the science labs was mostly quiet, Thor asking a question about something or other every now and then.

"Darcy," Thor called, waiting until he had her attention to continue, "I wish to thank you for all that you do for Jane and Erik. It means a great deal to them and I that you are willing to take care of them so often and go without recognition…" Darcy was stunned for a moment before giving the Asgardian a huge grin.

"It's no problem big guy, it's what interns and friends do. Now here's the stuff Jane needs, you can pass this along to her while I go meet up with my friend. Have fun and don't make a mess of anything," Darcy said, handing Thor that stack of files from her bag. She patted him on the shoulder, told him where Jane's office was and sent him on his way. The closer Darcy got to the coffee shop the livelier her step got. There was no reason for her to be so excited about a meeting up with a sort-of friend for coffee. As Lawrence said, just two friends hanging out.

"Hello there," a voice behind Darcy made her jump and take a swing. Lawrence stepped back easily, grinning at her obviously startled reaction.

"You're an asshole. Oh my god why the hell would you sneak up on me like that?! I would have tazed you if we weren't in such a public place," the young woman demanded angrily. He frowned at her and Darcy would swear that his eyes seemed brighter in the late morning sun when he tilted his head slightly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I would frighten you that badly. Allow me to make it up to you by buying you a drink," he said, smiling slightly and opening the door to the coffee shop with a little flourish. Darcy huffed before stepping inside and heading straight for the counter.

"You know I'm going to get the most expensive drink I can now, right?" she mentioned, browsing the food offerings while they waited. Lawrence smiled at her.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he answered. It was quiet between them for a moment, the barista preparing their drinks and grabbing Darcy's scone, but it wasn't a weird silence. The young woman had a scale of awkward silence ranging from one: comfortable to a ten: SHIELD interrogation silence. This was definitely a one on her scale.

"So, did you have a plan for hanging out or were we just going to sit in silence and sip at our drinks the whole time?" she asked as the two settled down at a table near the window.

"I didn't plan out a whole conversation in my mind if that is what you are asking. You talk so much that I thought I would mention something and just let you have at it," Lawrence chuckled.

"Fair. But I only ramble to Jane because she doesn't listen anyway and I ramble to myself when I'm doing work because my thoughts are too loud to keep in my head. I don't go on and on when I'm hanging out with a very new friend. I tend to conduct interrogations to see if they're worthy of my awesome presence," she explained. There was a quiet moment where the two of them were sizing each other up for the looming possibility of invasive questions from Darcy before the man across from her grinned.

"Do your worst." A slow smile spread across Darcy's face as she leaned back in her chair.

"You're going to regret saying that," she informed him, hiding her pleased smile behind her drink, Lawrence's self-assured smile slipping off his face as he took in her expression.

"Question one…" she began.

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A/N: WARNING: The new semester is starting for me and since I'm near graduation time, I probably won't have much opportunity to write as frequently as I do now. I can no longer promise weekly updates, so dear readers, I'm sorry, but you're going to have a longer wait now between chapters.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I almost forgot to post this today, lol. I forgot it was Saturday until just now and that I owed you wonderful people a new chapter. Big thanks to my beta Yoshinator who got back to me in record time.

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Loki had never felt so exhausted in his life within such a short time span. Darcy's questions seemed endless, and she asked each one with this sort of secretive smile on her face as if she knew something he didn't. It drove him absolutely mad.

"Ok, favorite color?" she asked.

"Green."

"First person you had sex with?" That question gave Loki pause. Most of the questions Darcy had asked thus far were mundane, but apparently she had finally decided, after wearing him down, to start in on the rather invasive questions.

"A girl I grew up with. We were fairly friendly…" he mumbled, attempting to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"Does she have a name?" the young woman's blue eyes were bright with amusement as Loki shifted in his seat, the only sign of his unease.

"Yes, a rather unpronounceable one in fact. She was from Iceland," he responded, picking out a country he knew to have a complicated language, compared to English. Darcy wrinkled her nose, leaning back in her seat.

"Yeah, I can't even say the simplest words from there. They have a weird language, but I hear English is like, one of the hardest languages to learn because of all the grammar rules that really have more exceptions than not and all that jazz. Anyway, how old were you when you slept with her?" Once again, Loki had to give his answer serious thought. He obviously didn't age the same way that humans did, and so had to compare their life spans to those of Asgardians, to give himself some frame of reference for age.

"We were young. I must have been about sixteen," he finally told her before sipping from his quickly cooling drink.

"Oooh, very nice. I'm from a small town and apparently was too hot to handle so I didn't get any until college. Any siblings?" she questioned, waving the waitress over to request another refill of her beverage.

"Somewhat, yes. We had what you could call a 'falling out'. I don't really consider him my brother." That question was easier for Loki to answer. Her eyes lit up at the answer and the young woman leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands cradling her chin as she looked at him intensely.

"Ah, I sense family drama. I must hear all the dirty details," Darcy's sharp grin made Loki's mouth twitch into a smile but no more inclined to share that particular point of his life. Her smile faded slightly when he didn't answer right away and once again, she leaned back from him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she offered.

"No, it's all right, the situation has been a problem for years and only just recently came to a head. Our mother passed away very recently and it's…it has made things more complicated," Loki tried not to stutter at the mention of Frigga, but his words seemed to stick in his throat, the pain of her loss still felt like a hot knife through his chest.

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine how hard that must be for you…" Darcy's voice was soft, eyes dark with sympathy. She reached across the table and took his hand, giving it a brief squeeze before standing. Loki watched as she went up to the counter and purchased some food, precariously carrying the plates back to their table.

"Lunch time. And hey, I think it's time for my portion of today's sharing session. Ok so, I grew up in this really small place…" Loki let Darcy's voice just wash over him, the constant stream of words a good focus, a distraction from his darker thoughts. He sat and listened contentedly as she told him all about the town she grew up in, the "completely innocent and harmless" trouble she would get into. Her favorite color was blue…teal if you wanted to get more specific. She didn't have any siblings but she grew up with one very close best friend who felt like a brother. The boy had even threatened any potential boyfriends like an older brother would. Darcy had found it endlessly endearing as well as annoying. They stayed at the coffee shop for hours, just chatting. She did warn him, however, that she had more questions and that he should be prepared to answer them. He smiled and gave a slight bow.

"I accept the challenge of your inquiries," he told her. Loki had the pleasure of seeing Darcy blush before she waved at him and turned to walk home. Loki subtly followed her all the way to her door to make sure she arrived unharmed.

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Heimdall's golden eyes followed Thor as he arrived on Midgard and talked with the assistant to Jane Foster. The girl flitted around the living space before leading his prince through the city, guiding him toward Jane. There was something strange about the girl, something about the air around her that didn't seem right to the gatekeeper. His gaze followed her when she and Thor separated. There was a hint of lingering magic where there should have been none, clinging to the space around the girl. She seemed excited about going to her destination, her even steps becoming more of a skip or a hop. Heimdall's vision began to blur and turn grey, the sight of the Midgardian youth became lost to him as whatever magic had been clinging to her suddenly strengthened. There was a powerful magician on Midgard, one strong enough to hide from his sight. He would have to inform the Allfather of this immediately.


End file.
